


An Odd Pair

by Blitz_Unite



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Coffee Shop, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, Friendship, Juventus Turin, Multi, Neullich, Real Madrid CF, Romance, Slow Burn, so you're not gonna see Neuller or Cressi for a while, the first few chapters are just kinda focused on Paulo and Jo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-06-26 07:52:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15658953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blitz_Unite/pseuds/Blitz_Unite
Summary: Who is Joshua? = German wonderkid, 'Lahm's replacement', Bayern's future captainWho Is Paulo? = 'The new Messi', Juventus' future, La JoyaFrom one meeting and several awkward text conversations, an odd friendship(?) had formed between the unlikely pair.-Warning: First few chapters are cringy as hell-





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this came out of nowhere. Please Enjoy.

Just before the world cup started. FIFA had decided to host the biggest party in the stadium in Russia, right where the world cup would take place. The whole field was decorated with ribbons and whatnot, and it was littered with tables and a big stage in the middle for live music. Not to mention the biggest buffet Joshua (and Paulo) had ever seen. 

 

Joshua and rest of Bayern Munich seemed to have arrived late since the party was in full swing by the time they got there. Of course, not everybody had came, but there was still plenty of people. Too much, if Joshua had a say in it. Bayern filed into the stadium and spread out, most of the players meeting up with their old friends and teammates. Joshua went straight for the buffet. He got a paper cup and filled it with soda. It was just a weird tick he had, drinking copious amounts of liquid when he didn’t want to talk to anyone. 

 

He watched as Thomas, Manuel and Mats met up with everyone from Germany. It seemed like Schalke 04 hadn’t arrived yet since he couldn’t see Leon anywhere. Joshua was pretty excited that Leon would be coming to Bayern, Leon had asked for his opinion and of course he was a little biased. But he’d encouraged Leon to make his own decision, right after telling him how awesome Bayern was. 

 

“Kimmich, right?” somebody said. Joshua choked a little on his water as he turned around to see who had spoken. He recognized the man standing in front of him, tan skin, dark hair, gorgeous eyes. But he still couldn’t quite put his finger on the man’s name. 

 

“Yeah, that’s me,” Joshua replied, focusing on not stuttering. His eyes focused on the man. Then it occurred to him. “And you’re Paulo Dybala.”

 

Paulo smiled. “You looked lonely.”

 

“What?” Joshua blinked. Most people made small talk instead of, that. 

 

“Sorry, just assumed you’d want to know that.” Paulo shrugged, the smile more of a smirk now.  

 

“Thanks?” Joshua said uncomfortably. He poured himself a second glass of soda. 

 

“Which club do you play for, again?” Paulo asked, reaching for a chocolate cupcake on the long buffet table. 

 

“Bayern Munich,” Joshua took a sip of his soda. He already knew Paulo played for Juventus. “Did you talk to Messi?”

 

Paulo didn’t seem to be taken aback by the question. Though Joshua was, at the fact that he’d just asked that. Paulo answered with a wave of his hand. “Yeah, first person I talked to. It was so awkward. I don’t know how it’s gonna be in the world cup.”

 

“Where is your team?  I can’t see them.” 

 

“Yeah, turns out I have very few friends compared to my teammates.”

 

For the rest of the night, Paulo and Joshua talked to each other. They went around as a pair, and Joshua certainly noted the number of raised eyebrows. Joshua just found it so easy to talk to Paulo. Since neither of them held back against each other, no fake compliments and pretending they knew about each other’s clubs. Maybe it was the fact that they hardly knew each other. Maybe cause they both drank too much. Even if they made the wrong impression, they could just never talk to each other again, and nothing would change.

 

Actually that was the plan, to never talk again. Like that one person you only talk to because you have no one else. 

 

The next morning though, when Joshua checked his phone after waking up with an immense headache. He’d got tons of notifications, like everyday, most of which he just swiped through until;

 

_ Instagram: paulodybala started following you. _


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next time Joshua and Paulo spoke.

The next time Joshua and Paulo talked was after Germany VS South Korea. Paulo texted Joshua on instagram, just a little while after the match. The team was on the bus and everybody was in a pretty grim mood.

 

_ R u ok? _

 

Joshua didn’t know how to respond. Was he OK? He was just perfectly fine, knowing that maybe if he was actually defending instead of attacking, they  might’ve won. He was fine, knowing that if Lahm was there instead of him, the game would have gone much differently. He was fine, knowing about all the germans and all the hope that he dragged down.

 

_ Yeah _

 

Joshua replied, at this point, his anger was starting to boil. His hands clenched into fists, something which Julian, who was sitting next to him, failed to notice as he wallowed in his own despair. He turned his attention back to his phone.

 

_ Are u sure _

 

Joshua’s anger dissipated a little. 

 

_ Yeah _

 

The bus slowed to stop in front of the hotel they were staying at. Julian and everybody else got up, angrily filing out the plastic door. Joshua remained seated. His eyes glued to his phone.

 

_ Can i call u _

 

It wasn’t until Thomas had shouted for him to come out that he had realized he was the only one still on the bus. He frantically collected his things while getting into the aisle, his phone still clutched in one hand. Once he got out of the bus, he swung all his belongings over one shoulder (and felt himself tipping sideways). He felt his teammates throw glares at him as clumsily staggered into the lobby. 

 

_ Yeah _

 

Instead of taking the elevator like everybody else, Joshua energetically climbed up the stairs after adjusting his luggage. His room was only on the fifth floor. He reached his room right after the elevators dinged, his phone still in his hand. Joshua pushed open the door to his and Leon’s room, already hearing the disappointed grumbles of the rest of the team as they dragged themselves  to their own rooms. 

 

Joshua tossed all of his luggage onto his bed, not caring for the mess. He knew Leon wouldn’t be here for at least an hour. Whenever they had a bad match, Leon always found some nearby beach or something so he could be alone and punch the sand for a little while. Joshua’s nose scrunched up when he heard the rhythmic knocks on the door. He set his phone on the bed and opened the door, peeking out. 

 

It was Thomas, who looked like he was just about to start crying. Joshua felt a pang of guilt. “Jo-”

 

“I’m fine Thomas. Go take care of yourself,” Joshua said kindly. He heard the familiar tings of his ringtone. Thomas opened his mouth, but Joshua beat him to it. “I’m fine really. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later!”

 

Joshua closed the door on Thomas, hoping he wasn’t being too mean. He grabbed his phone from the bed, settling himself on the carpeted floor and leaning against the bed frame. He took a deep breath  before picking up. 

 

“Hello?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you all like it?


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joshua and Paulo talk.

“I can’t Paulo! This was so UGH! I read all the stuff they say, you know? I’m the biggest disappointment of the whole team!  _ I did nothing! Nothing good _ !” Joshua finished, breathing heavily. Just two minutes after Paulo picked up, Joshua found himself ranting. He felt another pang of guilt when he realized that Paulo had to listen to his sorry monologue. “I’m sorry,”.

 

“Don’t read the news!” Paulo answered, frustration clear in his voice. “Joshua, listen to me. They hold too high expectations of literally everybody. Do you know how many times I’ve been compared to Messi? How am I supposed to live up to that? Those things are 80 percent trash, and 20 percent things that actually matter.”

 

Joshua couldn’t help but giggle a little, but it soon turned into a frown. He just couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s not only him that the world cup affected. The whole of Germany was counting on him. He couldn’t take it. He decided to change the subject, he deserved to wallow in his sadness and defeat. “Is it really that awkward talking to Messi?”

 

“It’s better than I thought it would be. It’s just that we don’t really have anything in common except football.” Paulo sighed. “Anyway, how are you feeling? Are you okay, now?”

 

Joshua’s mood soured even more. “Why are you helping me?”

 

“Huh?” was Paulo’s only reply. 

 

“What about Sami? You guys are teammates, shouldn’t you be helping him?” Joshua demanded. “Not that I don’t like that you’re cheering me up, I appreciate it a lot. I’m just, curious.”

 

Paulo took a deep breath and for a moment, Joshua wondered if he should have said that. But then Paulo spoke again. “Well, I felt bad for you, for everybody on the german team. I knew Mesut and Sami would be supporting each other. But I still felt bad for all of you guys. I’m not sure why, maybe because I think I might be in the same position as you guys in a little while,”

 

“What! Argentina isn’t gonna get knocked out until at least the quarter finals.” Joshua said urgently. 

 

“That’s exactly the problem! Everybody thinks Argentina gonna do fine! We’re not! I know, trust me!” Paulo’s voice got louder. “I’m probably not even gonna play.”

 

“What?” Joshua frowned. “You’re a great player. The few times we met, I definitely couldn’t handle you,”

 

“Messi and I are too similar. We can’t be on the pitch at the same time, and he’s probably gonna be on the pitch all the time because, well, he’s Messi! We’re not talking about this anymore. What’s your favourite colour?”

 

“My favourite colour?” Joshua repeated. 

 

“It’s a conversation starter, now, what is it?” Joshua could practically feel Paulo rolling his eyes.

 

“As a matter of fact, I don't have one.” Joshua said, the thoughts of the game forgotten. 

 

“Everybody has one, Kimmie.” Paulo urged. Joshua squinted his eyes.

 

“It just happens so-wait, Kimmie?”


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think you all can guess after that last chapter. 
> 
> Also, I just can't stop poking at Joshua's height.

After that conversation, they didn’t talk until Argentina VS France. Joshua felt like he owed it to Paulo to at least check up on him. So he texted him on instagram.

 

_ Are you doing OK? _

 

Joshua stared uselessly at his phone for 5 minutes, waiting for Paulo to reply. 

 

_ No _

 

Joshua sucked in his breath, he hadn’t been expecting that. He looked around his flat, it felt somewhat alone, now that he’d really payed attention to it. 

 

_ Can I call you? _

 

_ Im not sure i want u to _

 

Joshua gulped. That wasn’t a no. He got up from his couch, pressing the call button. His habit of walking around while talking on the phone kicked in, even though he hadn’t even started talking yet. If Paulo didn’t pick up…

 

“Hey,”

 

“Hey,” Joshua breathed out in relief, the worry of embarrassment fading. When it became apparent Paulo wasn’t going to say anything, Joshua spoke again. “Are you feeling okay?”

 

“I already told you.” Paulo’s answer was blunt. 

 

“It wasn’t really your fault-”

 

“I don’t wanna talk about it!” Paulo snapped. Joshua went quiet, a slight blush on his cheeks. 

 

“What’s your favourite animal?”

 

“What?” Paulo was obviously caught off guard. 

 

“Come on, Paulo!” Joshua tried his best to sound cheery. “I like bears!”

 

“Bears?” Paulo snorted. Joshua frowned, what was wrong with him liking bears? Bears were awesome! “You like bears?”

 

“Yeah, so what?” Joshua asked defensively.

 

“Nothing, just opposites, I guess.” Paulo murmured. Joshua made a face. 

 

“Excuse me?” 

 

“Hmm?” 

 

“What do you mean opposites?” Joshua practically yelled. 

 

“Well, bears are big.” Paulo explained slowly, as if he were talking to a child. “And you’re not.”

 

“You’re like a centimeter taller than me!” Joshua exclaimed, blood rushing into his cheeks. 

 

“Every centimeter counts Kimmie.” Paulo mused. Joshua groaned in frustration. 

 

“If I stand on my tip-toes, I’ll be taller than you Dyba!” Joshua answered annoyed, he heard Paulo laugh on the other line and he grinned along. His mission accomplished. 

 

“Whatever you say.” Paulo said softly. Joshua smiled. They both just stayed silent for a while, listening to each other breathe. It was comforting, just to feel the presence of somebody who you could talk to. Joshua heard Paulo sigh. “It doesn’t matter how tall you are ‘cause either way, I could probably still lift you.”

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you all think?


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do people actually read these?<

Paulo wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he and Joshua started to talk an awful lot more. Granted all the text conversations were awkward as hell. But once they called each other it all worked out. They both were perfectly fine in calls because there was never any awkward silence. There was silence, but it was somewhat comfortable. If that made sense.

 

Aside from the conversation which happened through the internet, Joshua and Paulo had decided to meet up. They were both still in Russia and the world cup final was only a little away. Instead of buying tickets, they’d both decided they’d see it in some pub as they both felt it was better.

 

Paulo was a little nervous. It’s not because of Joshua, no, (actually yes). He didn’t feel the  most comfortable with watching France compete. Just the thought that it could be them, it could be Argentina right now in the finals, it just made his blood boil. But he’d decided to bear through it.

 

He made his way through the city to where Joshua had asked to meet, a pair of sunglasses on with a scarf covering half of his face. He quickly hustled through the throngs of people, keeping his eyes down. He really wasn’t in the mood to get recognized, not now.

 

Joshua had asked to meet at some cafe, Paulo could see it now. It was dainty, and packed. He assumed Joshua meant outside of the cafe rather than the inside so he stopped just outside the door.

 

Paulo checked his watch, Kimmie was ten minutes late. Sighing, Paulo quickled texted him.

 

“There you are!”

 

Paulo turned, recognizing Joshua’s voice. Jo walked out of the cafe with two styrofoam cups in his hands. His  scarf was almost up to his nose, like Paulo’s, and his beanie was so far down his face, Paulo wasn’t sure how he could see.

 

“I thought you would be inside!” Joshua exclaimed apologetically. “I’m sorry!”

 

“It’s fine.” Paulo eyed the cups Joshua was holding.

 

“Oh! I got one for you. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just got a normal coffee with some whipped cream,” Joshua held out one of the cups and Paulo gladly took it.

 

“Thanks,” Paulo muttered before taking a sip of the piping hot coffee. He immediately warmed up.

 

“Come on, the pub’s just a little way from here.” Joshua grabbed Paulo’s arm, carefully leading him along.

 

“Wait, we have to walk more?” Paulo asked, his face scrunched up. He wrapped his arms around himself, damn it was cold.

 

“It takes like five minutes,” Joshua grinned at him. “I just had us meet here because I wanted hot chocolate,”

 

“You sure you don’t wanna stay back in the cafe a little longer?” Paulo suggested, noting how Joshua was shivering despite the steamy hot chocolate he kept sipping.

 

“Yes.” Joshua huffed. Paulo rolled his eyes at the Bayern player’s stubbornness. “Also, a few of my teammates might be there. Thought I’d warn you,”


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Dyba' and 'Kimmie' reach the pub
> 
>  
> 
> It's been a while I know. I'm sorry but it's up now!
> 
> Also I feel like my chapters are gradually getting longer.

“What!” Paulo jerked to a stop, causing Joshua to as well.

 

“Calm down,” Joshua rolled his eyes before starting to walk again.

 

“You said we would just chill and watch the match with a beer or two.” Paulo hissed. It’s not that he had anything against Joshua’s teammates, whether from Bayern or Germany, but he was _not_ going to watch the final with _them_. This match felt to personal, too intimate, he felt wrong to share it with someone else.

 

Then again, here he was with Joshua.

 

“Chill, it’s only going to Thomas, Mats, Manu and maybe Marco or Toni or actually Marc Andre too.” Joshua said it so casually, Paulo almost felt like it was normal, almost.

 

“First of all, they’re all super intimidating. Second of all, I don’t know any of them, and lastly, I don’t wanna watch it with them.” Paulo grudgingly followed Joshua through the cold, tossing his coffee in a nearby trash can. “Also, aren’t people going to notice a bunch of world cup stars in a pub?”

 

“Don’t worry, I think Mats knows the owner or something.” Joshua gave Paulo a reassuring smile, which Paulo replied to with a glare. “Also, I should probably tell them you’re coming.”

 

“You haven’t told them I’m coming!”

 

“Well I’m going too!”

 

Eventually, they reached the pub. It was in a secluded corner in an almost empty street.

 

“How did you find this place?” Paulo glanced around, feeling uneasy. Apparently Joshua mirrored his feeling as he unconsciously drifted closer to Paulo.

 

“Mats did.” came Joshua’s quiet answer. They pushed open the heavy door to the pub and stepped inside the warm room. Paulo let out a sigh and took off his coat and pulled down his scarf. The warm and toasty room enveloping him.

 

“Jo!”

 

And there went Paulo’s peaceful moment. Thomas Mueller made his way over to them, wrapping an arm around Joshua with a grin. Paulo narrowed his eyes before looking to see all the other german teammates Joshua had mentioned before. “Glad you could make it!” Mueller turned towards him. “You too Paulo!”

 

Paulo gave what he thought the most awkward smile ever. Hummels, Neuer and Reus (???) made their way over too, all mirroring Paulo’s smile when they looked in his direction.

 

“You can take of that mask, you know?” Hummels gestured to Joshua’s scarf and beanie, which Paulo could barely recognize him through. Joshua reluctantly pulled down his scarf and pushed up his maroon beanie, now Paulo could actually see his bright eyes.

 

“Match starts in 7 minutes.” Reus called out from where he was sitting. Paulo took a good look around the pub, which seemed more like a bar. It was practically empty except for a few other people, all of whom didn’t seem to care that there were a bunch of football stars currently.

 

Joshua grabbed Paulo yet again and pulled him along to the bar area where Reus was sitting. They sat next to each other. Paulo couldn’t help but feel left out when Joshua started talking with his german friends. Reus mostly spoke in German but Joshua and the rest spoke in english, Paulo felt like they did that out of pity.

 

Reus said something in german which Joshua immediately responded defensively to, in a mix of german and english.

 

“Marco!..............spend….(freund?)......better…..!”

 

“Chill I get it.” Reus muttered bitterly. Paulo walked the exchange with concern, what had made Joshua so fired up? He looked towards Neuer for answers, who looked like he was about to break out laughing. He patted Paulo on the back, giving him the warmest smile to go along with it. Paulo could hear Mueller and Hummels snickering and he desperately wanted to know what Joshua had just said, ‘cause it seems like Kimmie was starting to crack up too, face as red as a tomato.

 

“The game’s about to start!” Reus reminded, turning away from the group  to face the television. The laughter immediately downed. Paulo felt something in his chest when he saw France (and Croatia) walk out onto the pitch. He could feel Joshua tense too as they were sitting so close to each other, so he scooted a little away to give Joshua some space.

 

Then the feeling worsened.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here ends the world cup.

Paulo didn’t like this. In fact, he despised it. 

 

The match was almost over. 70 minutes and it was 4-2. It wasn’t looking good for Croatia. Paulo was this close to flipping the non existent table. Joshua was taking deep breaths, focused on the screen, squinting his eyes. Paulo wanted to wave a hand in front of his face. 

 

Joshua’s teammates were pretty much the same, frozen. 

 

Though when the time hit the eighty minute mark, Paulo felt like he could breathe. The match wasn’t over yet, and Croatia or France could last minute, it wouldn’t be the first time. But Paulo just realized that he didn’t really… Care? No, he cared. A little too much maybe. He felt like, he didn’t have to worry too much. 

 

There was no way Argentina was going to go very far this year, they didn’t have the stability as a team for it. Much like Germany, who were too much of a mess to succeed. He cast a guilty look at Joshua, somewhat feeling like he was insulting him. Plus, Paulo had the  next world cup, and the one after that too maybe, to prove himself. 

 

The match passed by quickly after that, the germans were still extremely stressed though. Like balloons which kept getting filled with helium, eventually they were gonna pop.

 

Well, some were. Neuer looked calm as heck. Reus and Hummels just looked like they were trying not to care but when they saw France lift the trophy, Paulo was sure they were gonna start crying. Mueller wasn’t much better. Joshua patted his german teammates on the back, a sympathetic smile on his face.

 

The germans ordered a couple of drinks, which Hummels’ bar friend happily complied them with.

 

“Are you going to stay?” Joshua’s asked, there was something in his eyes, and Paulo knew that he didn’t feel the same way about the world cup. So Paulo nodded, swinging an arm around his sad friend. “You seem happy.”

 

“Not happy really, just, I realized I don’t care that much.” Paulo replied with a smile. Then, with a softer voice. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Hmm, sure,”

 

“Really though!” Joshua defended himself, flustered. 

 

“I believe you!” Paulo actually tried to make it more compassionate but his sarcasm came out.

 

“A little angry.”

 

“And?” Paulo tried to hide his grin as Joshua started to open up. He liked it when people trusted him.

 

“A little sad, maybe.”

 

“Let’s drink.” 

 

“Yeah, I somehow think that isn’t a good idea.” Joshua answered. Paulo rolled his eyes and ordered two drinks, nothing heavy. 

 

“It helps.”

 

“You sound like an alcoholic.” Joshua snorted when Paulo swatted at him. Paulo’s eyes drifted over at Kimmie’s german teammates. Hummels and Reus looked like they were in a rap battle, just without the rap, which was pretty disconcerting. Neuer and Mueller were quietly sitting next the aforementioned pair. They seemed to be in a deep conversation.

 

“Let yourself go Kimmie, I’m sure your teammates will take care of you.” 

 

“So you won’t?” Joshua’s joke made Paulo wince. He almost started to reassure Jo. “And what about you? How’re you gonna get back to your hotel?”

 

“With a car, duh. I have a driver.” Paulo frowned. “Wait, how are you going back?”

 

“Uh, well, you see,” Joshua blushed. “I was gonna walk.”

 

“With your german buddies?”

 

“No, well, I don’t know.”

 

“How far away is your hotel.”

 

“By walking, probably around twenty or thirty minutes.”

 

Paulo repressed the urge to facepalm. How could someone so smart, be so naive? “You’re going to walk thirty minutes, through Moscow, in the night?”

 

“It seemed like a good plan at the time!” Joshua threw his hands in the air. “Plus, I can’t go with Thomas and Manu, Mats or even Marco,”

 

“And why not?” Paulo asked dryly. 

 

“I already told them I didn’t need to go with them.”

 

“Ah, so stubborn Kimmie. Really though you were the nice one.” Paulo took a sip of his drink. 

 

“Says you.” Joshua shot back. “You’re the stubborn one in this relationship.”

 

“Oh, so we’re dating?” Paulo raised his eyebrows at the blonde, who blushed yet again. Paulo swore, dude blushed more than he talked. 

 

“You know that’s not what I meant!” Joshua slapped Paulo’s shoulder. “Dummkopf.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

In the end, Joshua did end up hitching a ride with Mats, due to Thomas and Manuel’s concerns. Paulo couldn’t help but shoot a ‘I told you so’ in Joshua’s direction, to which the german replied by sticking out his tongue, making the pair laugh.

 

Paulo hadn’t felt this… light and immature in a long time. The pressure was finally lifted. He decided he liked it.


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, I apologize. My bad. I really am sorry. I'm trying to write more frequently but school keeps me so busy!

Surprisingly, after that day. Paulo and Joshua didn’t really talk for a while. It seemed that after the world cup, they didn’t really have anything to talk about.

Paulo suspected it was because their friendship had started off so abruptly. They’d become joined at the hip so fast, maybe now they were experiencing the awkward part most friendships have when they’re developing. Or they won’t really ever talk again cause they won’t be able to get through this.

 _Get through this_. Paulo almost snorted, sounded like they had just started dating.

Paulo missed Joshua sometimes,  but as much as it hurt, they really had never been that close. Paulo still had his friends, Gonzalo, João, practically the whole Juventus team. Alvaro too, Paulo could never forget him.

No matter how much he wanted to sometimes.

Paulo was mainly dealing with making his teammates accept the fact that Ronaldo was coming to their club. They found it harder to, well, swallow. Paulo supposed it was because he’d found out earlier, which was a little odd now that he thought about it.

“I can’t wait!” João grinned. Paulo smiled and patted him on the back, João was by far the most excited. “We’re going to have a literal machine in our team!”

“Figurative machine,” Mario corrected. “Also Paulo, your phone’s ringing. Why is a german calling you?”

“Gimme that,” Paulo snatched his phone from Mario’s hands. Sure enough, Joshua was calling him. “Hey,” Paulo accepted the call and started walking out of  the room his teammates were talking in. He could hear Joshua take a deep breath on the other side of the call.

“RONALDO IS JOINING YOUR TEAM!”

Paulo winced, holding the phone away from his ear. “Yeah it’s pretty crazy I guess.”

“Heilige Scheiße, Dyba don’t you realize what this means?” Joshua exclaimed. Paulo shrugged momentarily forgetting Joshua wasn’t able to see him. “You’re going to play with Ronaldo. Ronaldo! In fact, did you realize that you’re in one team with Messi and in another with Ronaldo! You’ve got the whole package!”

“Huh, I never really thought of it that way.” Paulo smiled, Joshua’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“This is great for you! You get to learn from both of the bests of the world, I’m so happy for you.” Paulo could practically hear Joshua’s grin through his words. Paulo wasn’t sure how, but his smile stretched wider, he was warmed by Joshua’s words. Then he remembered.

“Now I’m in the shadow of _both_ the best footballers in the world, how great is that.” Paulo’s eyes turned dark. He kicked at a rock on the grassy floor, while talking and listening to Jo, he had somehow wondered out of the building’s first floor and into the small centre park that was a part of the building center.

“Oh, I know how that feels. But don’t worry about that, cause if you do then you’ll never stop worrying despite maybe being self aware about it.” Joshua paused. Paulo heard a quiet ‘wait a minute’ before Joshua started talking again. “You’re going to have two awesome mentors. Think about that! Talk to your teammates, get hyped!”

“So you want me to look on the bright side basically?”

“Yep! There’s so much to look forward to.” Joshua soothed. “Anyway, you better tell me how it goes when Ronaldo comes.” Paulo nodded, before voicing his nod after realizing that Kimmie couldn’t see him.

“I’m coming to Munich.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I just decided.” Paulo admitted. He wasn’t sure what made him think of it, but he wasn’t complaining. His cousin lived in Munich, so there’s an actual purpose to this trip.

“Can’t stay away from me that long?” Joshua joked.

“You wish.” Paulo snorted. “I have a cousin who lives there. Haven’t seen her in a while. Should pay a visit, probably in a day or two.”

“In a day or two?” Joshua’s sputtered. Paulo started walking back to the room that contained his excited teammates as Joshua talked. “You can just leave like that?”

“We’re footballers Kimmie, we have the money,”

“What about training? What about your team?”

“Eh, they’re pretty chill about these kind of things.” Paulo answered nonchalantly. “Hey, I’ll talk to you later okay? I’m going to have to console Mario about Ronaldo.”

“Okay, bye.” Joshua replied, was it just Paulo or was there a hint of sadness in his voice? Paulo shrugged as he put his phone in his pocket and entered the room he had left earlier.

“Why were you talking to that german kid?” Mario asked again, his expression was more grumpy than usual so Paulo assumed that João had been blabbering about Cristiano the whole time.

“Why do you care?” Paulo plopped down on a nearby chair.

“Cause you don’t know him,” before Paulo could talk back, Mario added. “Or you _didn’t_ know him I guess.”

“Yeah well, I made a new friend.”

Mario snorted.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you enjoy? I know Paulo and Joshua is pretty random. Since I don't think they've actually talked to each other in real life.


End file.
